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River Card Room
Located next to Cattlemans Restaurant on the west side of 101 at the Penngrove exit. If coming from the north, it's directly in front of you when you exit the 101. Just look for the 76 gas station. Games 3/6 Limit is played more often here than any other game, though Omaha and NL are played fairly regularly, too. The card room opens at 11 AM. Bonus $$ for early birds. See below. Limit hold 'em: Mostly 3/6, sometimes 4/8, sometimes with a half kill. No-limit hold 'em: 2-5, 40-100 buyin. Only spread occasionally, usually on tournament nights. Omaha/8: 4/8, with a full kill. Rake: $4 (includes jackpot) for 7 or more players, $3 for 5-6 players, $2 for 2-4 players. Posting: New players need not post. Shuffling: All tables are hand-shuffled. Wait Time: Varies by game and time of day, but can be quite long (an hour or more depending on game and limit). Or, if you come at a good time, seats can be open. Tournaments * Wed 7:00pm, NLHE. $50 buyin. * Fri 7:00pm, NLHE. $50 buyin. * 1st Saturday of each month, 5:00pm NLHE $120 buyin. Jackpots and Promotions * Aces Cracked: Every day. Get your aces cracked and win $100. * Quad promotion: Bonus of $250 for hitting the "quads of the day" every day. * Royal Flush Bonus - $250 * Early Bird Bonus - First 10 players (Starting at 11 AM) get $80 for $50, need to play for 2 hours. Atmosphere The River Card Room is owned by the same people that own the 101 casino across the street. They closed the card room on 12/26/08. The dealers moved over to the 101 card room. It's a large room with plenty of space between the tables, newly decorated with nice lighting, and a very collegial atmosphere. It's frequented by a set of regulars who hang out and come to needle each other and play poker. Everyone knows everyone else and how they play, so it can be a bit intimidating for a new player to just jump in, but the locals are friendly enough (especially the poker room manager, who goes out of his way to make you feel welcome). Still, you're at a definite disadvantage here as an outsider. Does the big raise from the big blind mean anything when it's this guy? How would you know? But once you do get to know them, it's rare that they will do anything different. ABC poker works well here until you know who does what when. The River Room employs props and there is usually 1 at the table as well as the poker floor staff during slow times. Some of the local gang also love to gamble. More than one of them will straddle virtually every orbit, or raise/re-raise PF with anything in their hand just to build a pot. This can also be intimidating if your bankroll can't handle it. But once you identify who does what, Woohoo! Still, the physical room is very pleasant as a place to play poker. Wide open with 3 large plasma televisions on the walls. Just plain nice. Neighborhood: Across the highway from the busier 101 casino, the River Card room shares a building with a sign business and a local Hertz Rental Agency. It's next to a 76 gas station and the aforementioned Cattleman's steak house. Extremely convienient to Highway 101. Parking: A lot of parking during the day. Depending on the day of the week, the patrons of the Cattleman's restaurant will take up a lot of the spaces so you might have to walk a bit more then usual during busy times. Tables and Chairs: 9-seat tables. Firm smooth felt. Nice large fully-adjustable office chairs for players. Service and Comps Snack bar that sells hot dogs, sandwiches etc. You can order takeout from Cattleman's if you want. Beer (Great White and Lagunitas micro brew is on tap) and soda are also available. Links and Notes * The River Card Room * Article in the local paper, about a poker player playing there for the first time in 2004 * Nearest competitor is The 101 Casino also in Petaluma. Both rooms are owned by the same company. * MarkT visited in Sep 2006. * BillL is a semi-regular there.